Repealed
by PocketSevens
Summary: This takes place in the Musical just after Elphaba enchanted Nessa's shoes.  What if, when Boq confesses his love to Glinda, Nessa didn't get to "steal his heart"?  "You really want to go?  Then...go."  "Nessa..."  "JUST GO!"  Oneshot Bessa.


**A/N - This one is dedicated to all of the Bessa fans. This takes place in the Musical just after Elphaba enchanted Nessa's shoes.**

**Standard Disclaimer applies: I own nothing here.**

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Repeal:

1 : to rescind or annul by authoritative act; especially : to revoke or abrogate by legislative enactment

2: to cancel

* * *

Nessa was dumbfounded - did she just hear him right? "You're _leaving_?" she asked sounding quite surprised.

Boq nodded enthusiastically as joy started to creep back into his heart for the first time in a long time. "I've got to go appeal to her - express the way I feel to her! Oh, Nessa, I lost my heart to Glinda from the moment I first saw her. You know that."

She turned away from him; her eyes closed trying to hold in the heartache that now assaulted her entire being. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and every word he spoke stung worst than the one before.

Elphaba had finally helped Nessa begin to walk and it was her greatest joy. In that moment, it had turned into her greatest agony. All of her hopes and dreams of a life with Boq were instantly shattered.

She realized right there and then: all the love she had given him, the nights of longing and crying herself to sleep…

It was all a waste.

That's when her heartache turned to anger.

"Lost your heart? Well, we'll see about that..." Her every word dripped with hate as she slowly looked up at him.

Elphaba tried to reason with her, saying "Nessa, let him go..."

Nessa gave into the pain and anger continuing to rise in her. "DID YOU THINK I'D LET YOU LEAVE ME HERE FLAT?" Her voice now filled with ice and rage, causing both Boq and Elphaba to jump.

Boq jumped back fearful, grabbing a letter opener as his only protection. "Don't come any closer!"

"YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE YOUR HEART TO ME, I TELL YOU! IF I HAVE TO... I HAVE TO..."

She looked around and saw the Grimmerie. She smiled an evil smile. _He'll give his heart even if I have to use magic!_

She reached for the book…but her sister's hands grabbed hers. "NESSA, STOP!"

Elphaba looked into her sister's eyes – eyes full of pain, anger and hate. "You can't make him love you!"

"Watch me," her voice answered with coldness as she wrestled her wrists from Elphaba's hands.

The Governess then picked up the Grimmerie but was again stopped by her sister. "Nessa, don't do this! You know I'm right."

Nessa froze; her emotions swirling within her in a painful and bewildering dance. Everything was swirling within her - anger, hate, sadness, heartbreak – all were playing for space in her heart.

However, at Elphaba's words, something else entered her heart – the fact that Elphaba was right.

She let go of the book and covered her face with her hands, crying silent tears. It was a few seconds later before she finally spoke...

"You really want to go? Then…go."

Boq, sensing that danger was past, slowly put the letter opener down. However, he could hear the sadness in her voice. In reality, he felt bad: he really didn't want to hurt Nessa but he couldn't keep lying to her anymore. He had to tell her the truth about his feelings.

He felt the need to tell her he was sorry for lying to her and hiding his feelings. "Nessa…"

"JUST GO!"

When she turned to face him, he could see the pain written all over her face. Whatever courage he had to apologize vanished in that instant.

He turned and left.

As soon as Nessa heard the front door close, she collapsed to the ground sobbing allowing the heartache to consume her. Elphaba kneeled down beside her sister and held her as Nessa cried.

They sat for about a half an hour – the older Thropp comforting the younger one as they sat on the floor. It was a long time before either of them spoke. Nessa broke the silence with a slight chuckle. "Isn't this typical…you always looking after your little sister."

Elphaba smiled back. "Just like old times."

Nessa sniffed and blew her nose into a handkerchief. "Do you know something? I was afraid of losing him. Everything I did was to keep him with me." She turned and looked at Elphaba. "But, he wasn't really mine, was he?"

Elphaba sighed – she knew the truth wouldn't take away any of Nessa's pain but she had to tell her. She shook her head, "No."

Nessa nodded in acceptance of the truth; then, a horrible realization hit her. "Elphaba, what have I done? I've been so selfish, putting my own desires ahead of the people; I've been a horrible Governess; I've destroyed the Thropp legacy; I've ruined so many lives…"

Elphaba turned Nessa around and held her sister by the shoulders. "Nessa, stop it. Don't do this to yourself. You're not the one they call 'wicked', remember?"

Nessa shook her head. "No, Elphaba, I _am_ the wicked one. _You're_ the one trying to do some good."

Elphaba smiled. "You _still_ can do good, you know. You've still got time to clean this mess up."

* * *

It was now ten o'clock in the evening and Nessa was getting ready for bed. Elphaba had gone at Nessa's urging afraid that any of the other servants would see her. She sat in her chair (mostly to maintain the illusion of her disability) as a housemaid was brushing her hair. She stared blankly in the mirror as her sister's words replaying in her mind…

_You still can do good, you know. You've still got time to clean this mess up._

"Will that be all, Madame?"

The housemaid's question brought Nessa out of her thoughts. She nodded and the housemaid turned to leave.

_You still can do good... _

"Wait," Nessa ordered.

The housemaid stopped and turned to her. "Yes, Madame?"

Nessa wheeled herself towards the woman. She smiled a sincere smile and asked, "I am sorry I never asked you this: what is your name?"

The woman was surprised at the question; however, she curtseyed and simply replied, "My name is Annabelle, Madame."

A look of resolve came over Nessa's face. "Annabelle, would you please join me in the library? I have a favor to ask…"

It was almost midnight as Annabelle ran through the streets of the Munchkinland capital, completely amazed and overwhelmed by the document she was carrying; its words gave her the strength to keep running. She didn't stop until she got to the local printing press. As she approached a small house, she could still see the lights on. _Good, they're still up_. She ran to the door and started pounding on it. "Stop the presses!"

A gentleman in his mid-fifties came to the door, wearing a white shirt and brown overalls that were both covered in ink, and a pair of boots. He opened the door to the woman pounding on it. "Good heavens, woman! You're making enough noise to wake the dead. And what do you mean, 'stop the presses'?"

Annabelle smiled as she panted for air. "I'm sorry – I've always wanted to say that."

The printer frowned, replying, "Well, you've had your fun for the evening. Now goodbye!"

"WAIT!" Annabelle yelled before the man could close the door. "You've got to read this! We need to put this in the paper tonight!"

She held the document she was carrying out towards the man. He turned his nose up at it. "What? Another legislative pronouncement from the Governor's mansion? What has that wicked woman done now?"

Annabelle thrust it towards him again beaming with excitement. She pleaded with him, "Just read it! Please!"

The printer, which Annabelle learned was named Samuel, just sighed and ushered her into his home. After washing as much ink off of his hands as he could, he took the document and unrolled it on a table. As he read, his demeanor slowly changed from irritation to joyful surprise. As he continued reading, he breathlessly asked, "Sweet Oz, can it be?"

Annabelle was practically jumping with joy. "Yes! It's true! It just came from the Governess herself!"

Samuel turned to her and excitedly said, "This means…"

She didn't let him finish his statement. "Yes!"

"We're…"

"YES!"

In an impromptu moment of joy, Samuel grabbed Annabelle in a bear hug which she reciprocated; laughing at the news this document brought them. He then set her down and said, "Don't go anywhere! I'm going to get some help. We need to get this out tonight!"

He then ran out the door to his neighbor's house – his partner in the printing business. Samuel banged on the door. "Thomas! Wake up!"

An older gentleman slowly opened the door, clearly unhappy to be woken from his slumber. "What _is _it, Samuel? Why would you wake up the missus and me so late?"

Samuel didn't answer but grabbed Thomas' hand and brought him to the printing room to show him the document. Thomas' wife, Rebecca, followed them, also disturbed at the late night interruption.

Their mood changed as Samuel showed them the document Annabelle brought.

After reading the document, Thomas then shouted, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's prepare the presses!"

The next morning, the local paper was delivered to each home in Munchkinland free of charge. The top story screamed from the front page in big letters:

_Repealed!_

_Restrictions Lifted by Governor Thropp!_

_A surprising legislative pronouncement has come from the Governor's mansion late last night. After a year of travel, trade, employment and other restrictions, Governor Thropp has surprisingly repealed them all. Legislative pronouncement ML093 officially puts an immediate end to all restrictions enacted in the past year._

_The pronouncement additionally calls for general elections for a new Governor to take place in sixty days; the first time elections have ever been held in Munchkinland. Also, in a surprising twist, the Governorship has been temporarily been given to Munchkinland's Chief of Staff until a new Governor is elected._

_Reporters were unable to get comment from the Governess on this latest development as she was not available for q__uestioning... _

The news spread like wildfire as soon as people read their newspapers. Everybody was filled with joy at the news, and impromptu celebrations began the streets.

Annabelle walked towards the Governess' mansion, exhausted from helping at the printing press but overjoyed by the mood of the country. However, she stopped and stared astonished at the note that was nailed to the front door:

_I'm sorry._

_NT_

She opened the door without removing the note. "Madame? Are you here?"

Silence was her response.

She called out again as she searched the house. "Madame Thropp? It's Annabelle."

There was no sign of the Governess.

Annabelle ran to Nessa's bedroom to only find her empty wheelchair there.

* * *

A cloaked figure had walked the streets of Munchkinland since the early morning sunrise; her auburn hair stuck out of the bottom of the hood. Nessa was at the edge of the last town in Munchkinland when she heard the cries of joy and jubilant celebrations. She smiled at the sound and felt as if a great weight had been taken from her shoulders.

_Elphaba was right, _she thought to herself, _there __**was**__ time to do good._

Nessa looked back one more time at her home country. It was the only place other than Shiz University that she had ever known. Memories of her childhood came to her: how her father would take care of her as she grew up; how she'd slip Elphaba books under her bedroom door when her father sent Elphaba to her room for days; how Nessa and her sister would dream of the future; how she'd visit Boq at his house during summer breaks...

Everything that she remembered fondly of her home town and the things that kept here there...

Frex...

Elphaba...

Boq...

Now they were all gone.

Nessa sighed sadly and realized that it was time to move on. She tried to think positively: _It's time for a __fresh start__ whe__re nobody knows me and I can be anything I want to be. _

Nessa turned down the Yellow Brick Road towards the Emerald City, pulling her hood over her head. She wore the shoes that Elphaba enchanted as a reminder of her sister. She was so consumed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the weather started to turn bad. The wind, which started as a gentle breeze, had quickly grown into a bad storm.

Nessa realized she needed to find shelter fast. She turned back and started running towards the town. That's when she saw a woman, standing in the front porch of her home, pointing in horror towards the sky. Nessa turned around to see what the poor woman was pointing towards.

That's when she saw something falling towards her…something _huge_.

Instinctively, Nessa dove for the ditch at the side of the road.

That's when everything went black.

* * *

_Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…_

Voices. That's all she could hear. Voices…and that persistent beeping noise.

"…_don't know how she survived…"_

"…_Oh, Nessa…"_

"…_I think she's alive!"_

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

"…_Nessa…please forgive me…"_

"…_a bizarre and unexpected twister of fate…"_

"…_help me get her out!"_

"…_Doctor, I think she's coming around…"_

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

Everything felt foggy…she tried to remember what happened…or even figure out where she was.

"Miss Thropp?"

Slowly, everything started to come into focus. Nessa slowly opened her eyes, squinting as she tried to adjust to the light.

"Miss Thropp. Can you hear me?"

Nessa's vision started to come into focus as she listened to the voice calling her. She noticed that it was a woman's soothing voice that was calling to her. As Nessa's vision cleared, she saw that the woman was dressed in white. _Perhaps she's an angel._

"Dead?" Nessa asked almost in a whisper.

The woman standing above Nessa smiled. "No, Miss Thropp. You're not dead. To be honest, it's amazing you're alive. You've been in a coma for about five days."

As Nessa's senses started to come back to her, she started to feel a dull ache over her entire body. "Hurts…" is all she could say.

The woman sat down in a chair beside Nessa. "I know, Miss Thropp. You're currently on a regimen of pain killers as you heal."

"Where…am…I…"

"My name is Doctor Wyman, and you're currently in ICU at Ambrose Memorial."

It took a few seconds, but Nessa become conscious of her surroundings. "In…hospital?"

The doctor nodded to answer her question. "Miss Thropp, we'll talk some more when you feel better. Right now, it's best you rest and get well. OK?"

Nessa didn't get a chance to answer as a wave of fatigue washed over her.

For the first few days of her stay, recovery was slow, and Nessa could only stay awake for short periods of time. She still felt like she was living in a fog and couldn't get complete awareness of her surroundings.

However, as the days progressed, Nessa's health slowly improved and she stayed awake for longer periods. While still on pain medication, the dosage decreased as time went on. Nessa was happy for the improvement of her health; however, her heart was still burdened with the guilt of her horrible reign as Governess…

…of all of the strife she put her countrymen through…

…and of what she did to Boq.

It was a week and a half later when Nessa awoke to the sunshine pouring into her room.

She could hear somebody snoring.

Loudly.

She turned towards the source of the noise and was surprised to see someone asleep in the chair beside the bed.

More surprising was the person _in_ the chair.

"Boq?"

Another snore was his only response.

Rolling her eyes and gathering all of her strength, she pulled one of her pillows out from behind her and threw it at the sleeping Munchkin. The pillow landed directly on Boq's face, causing the young man to jump up out of his chair, landing flat out on the floor with a loud "thud".

Boq stood up, rubbing his now sore behind. "Ow!"

Then he realized…

"You're awake!" He shouted excitedly, prompting the former governess to shush him.

While Boq seemed happy that she was awake, Nessa looked at him with mixed emotions – most notably distain. "What in Oz's name are you doing here?"

"I'm looking after you," he replied placing the former pillow projectile back on Nessa's bed and sitting down in the chair.

_No games, Boq_, she thought. _I can't take any more heartache._

"I thought you left to chase after Glinda."

Boq breathed deep. He knew this wouldn't be easy. He looked her in the eye and answered, "I did. I mean, I met up with Glinda. And..."

His voice trailed off and Nessa noticed that his eyes held an unexpressed regret. Curiosity got the better of her. "And what?" she asked.

He shifted nervously at the question, looking down at his shifting feet. He fought for the words to answer. "Well...I…uh..." He sighed and looked straight into her eyes. "I did finally meet up with her and ..."

Now this was getting crazy. It was obvious that he was fighting his emotions right now. She decided to fill in the blanks for him. "...and she turned you down flat?"

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "No. I realized that I didn't really love her."

"WHAT?" Nessa squeaked in surprise.

He looked away and chuckled recalling the moment. "I met up with Glinda in the Emerald City. I finally got a chance to talk to her. I mean, this was what I wanted, right? I'd only been hoping for a chance to talk to her for a long time..."

The suspense was killing her. "What happened, Boq?"

"I realized that my feelings for her weren't real – more 'puppy love' than true love. At that moment, I realized I was truly in love with somebody else."

Before she could ask, he continued. "And then we saw the storm...the twister that went past the City heading for Munchkinland. It...It was carrying a house...a house! How crazy is that? Well, as soon as we saw that, I told Glinda that I needed to get back to Munchkinland.

"And then, we saw the house had fallen near the square. We all looked at the house and I saw..." He swallowed hard before he continued. "We saw your shoes sticking out from under the house. We thought you were dead." It looked like he was about to break down.

Nessa sat in silence listening to every word he said. Boq got himself together continued. "Then a poor farm girl came out from inside the house – she looked no more than twelve years old. Glinda gave her your shoes and sent her to the Wizard to see if they could send her home.

"Well, everybody in town came out to meet the poor girl. So after she left, they stayed behind to ask what had happened."

Nessa hung her head low. "Everybody was probably glad I was dead."

Boq shook his head. "Not everybody. Oh, there were some that said, 'Good riddance to the Wicked Witch of the East'..."

Nessa flinched at her unofficial title – she figured she deserved it but it didn't make hearing it any better. Boq continued his story: "Others were concerned for your well being. Then we heard a moan from under the house. Some guy walked up to the house and heard you moaning and shouted, 'I think she's still alive!'

"Well, it was decided right there and then to try to get you out. It took a lot of work and most of the townspeople pitched in, but we were able to get you out and to the hospital. It was only because you dove into a ditch that you didn't get completely crushed."

Nessa sat and took everything in. She was completely surprised that _anybody_ would want to help her considering what she did to them.

There was one question, though, that bothered her more. "Have you been here the whole time?"

Her heart leaped when he nodded. She then asked him one simple question: "Why?"

He sighed before answering: "Because I realized I was in love with you."

"Me?" She asked incredulously. "You love me? After everything I did to you...to everybody...you love me?"

Interestingly, instead of cowering, he found his confidence. He looked right at her and replied, "Yeah, I do."

She was taken aback with his matter-of-fact answer. All she could say in return was, "Oh."

"Why do you think I stayed, even when you went all 'evil dictator' on me? I hoped you would give me a sign or something..."

Oh, that did it. She asked exasperated, "Give you a sign?" Exasperation turned to frustration. "GIVE YOU A SIGN? Boq, I've been waiting for YEARS for you to even give _me_ a small HINT you love me!"

There was no way Boq was going to let her go off on him again. He stood up to challenge her. "Oh, come off it! As soon as you became Governess, you went all 'business-like'! Tying your hair back, looking all 'official'..."

She wouldn't let him win this one especially with her heart on the line. "I had to! I had to take over the Governorship…"

"But it wasn't you! You weren't the girl I knew from Shiz!"

"If you had just been that boy from school, I _c__ould_ have been that girl!"

"If you hadn't been so dictatorial, I _c__ould_ have been that boy!"

Neither of them realized it, but with each statement, they grew closer and closer to each other, until they were close enough to feel each other's heated breath. They were so close that there was only a small gap between their lips. Their eyes darted between each others' eyes and his lips, and they moved ever so slowly to close the gap…

That's when a wave of fatigue hit Nessa. _No! __No! No! __Not now._

Boq saw Nessa's eyes start to flutter closed.

He sat back down and sighed.

The moment was gone.

He smiled, though: he knew another moment would come.

"Sleep now, Nessa. I'll be here."

Nessa smiled as she lay back down. _He called me 'Nessa'._

"Boq, where do we go from here? Let's face it…I'm not Governess anymore, and I doubt I'll be elected…"

Boq shushed her, took her hand and held it. "Let's take it one day at a time, ok?"

Nessa could only get out a weak "OK" before starting to drift back to sleep.

She knew that the road ahead would be tough, but right now, at this moment, she felt a joy in her heart that she hadn't felt for a long time.

Whatever apprehension was between them, whatever conflict they had in their past, whatever accusations they held against one another…

…it was all repealed.


End file.
